What is Recovery

Course overview

Course Description: This course is based upon material published in the Journal Alcohol Research and is available as an open-access article. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is among the most prevalent psychiatric disorders and is associated with enormous public health costs. Although AUD and other addictive behaviors have been described as chronic relapsing conditions, most individuals who develop AUD will eventually recover. This narrative review provides an overview of definitions of recovery, with a focus on recovery from AUD. The definitions reviewed include those developed by key stakeholder groups, as well as definitions derived from recent quantitative and qualitative studies of individuals who meet criteria for AUD and attempt to resolve their problems with or without treatment or who self-identify as pursuing or achieving recovery. The literature reviewed supports a definition of recovery as an ongoing dynamic process of behavior change characterized by relatively stable improvements in biopsychosocial functioning and purpose in life. The review concludes that definitions of recovery that rely solely on abstinence from alcohol and the absence of AUD symptoms fail to capture the multidimensional and heterogeneous pathways to recovery that are evident among individuals in general population and clinical samples. This course on alchol use disorder and recovery is designed for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, and substance abuse counselors, who do clinical work. In addition, this course is appropriate for beginning, intermediate and advanced level practitioners who wish to develop clinical skills for the treatment of alcohol use disorder. The course material includes a literature review of interventions and research. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require continuing clinical education courses for license renewal. Authors: Witkiewitz, Montes, Schwebel and Tucker Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding Alcohol Use Disorder. Specifically, a professional will: Describe the characteristics of Alcohol Use Disorder. Identify the prevalence of Alcohol Use Disorder. Describe the characteristics of recovery from Alcohol Use Disorder. Citation: Witkiewitz, K., Montes, K.S., Schwebel, F.J., and Tucker J.A. (2020) What is recovery? Alchohol Research, 40(3) 01.